Shane Lowry ruins Justin Thomas’ vacation with Ryder Cup dig

Justin Thomas marked the end of his post-Ryder Cup vacation with an Instagram post

Justin Thomas marked the end of his post-Ryder Cup vacation with an Instagram post.

@justinthomas34 on Instagram

The European Ryder Cup team is still flying high following their big win at Marco Simone outside of Rome. With less than two weeks having passed since their victory, their celebrations are ongoing.

It’s a different story for the U.S. team members, who are already trying to erase the deflating Ryder Cup loss in Rome from their memories. If only the Europeans would let them.

Caddie Joe LaCava and Shane Lowry exchange tense words on Saturday at the Ryder Cup
Caddie Joe LaCava gets in shouting match with Shane Lowry in heated Ryder Cup moment
By: Kevin Cunningham

On Tuesday, U.S. Ryder Cup stalwart Justin Thomas made an Instagram post featuring a series of photos of him and his wife, Jillian, in Lake Como, the beautiful enclave in Northern Italy where they retreated to vacation following JT and co.’s defeat in Rome.

Thomas included a caption that read, “Lake Como photo dump. The Italian vacation has come to an end. What a beautiful place!”

Based on the photos, the Thomases very much enjoyed themselves on the trip, at least until European Ryder Cup player Shane Lowry got involved.

Lowry, the Irish pro who won the 2019 Open and was on the losing Ryder Cup side in 2021, saw Thomas’ post and couldn’t help but chime in with a great Ryder Cup dig.

“Any pics from Rome???” Lowry wrote on Thomas’ post, referencing the more forgettable experience from Thomas’ two weeks in Italy.

But instead of fighting back with his own shot at Lowry, Thomas replied, “Shane it’s been two weeks and was starting to forget…….”

Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry's replies from Thomas' Instagram post
Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry’s replies on Thomas’ Instagram post. @justinthomas34 on Instagram

Clearly, Lowry and the rest of the European team have no plans on forgetting that tumultuous Ryder Cup in Rome any time soon.

And while his joke was made in good fun, Lowry was involved with one of the tensest moments of this year’s Ryder Cup.

Team Europe's Rory McIlroy celebrates after Europe regained the Ryder Cup following victory over the USA on day three of the 44th Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome, Italy
‘It was disrespectful’: Rory McIlroy sheds light on parking-lot caddie spat after Ryder Cup win
By: Kevin Cunningham

When caddie Joe LaCava had his controversial incident with Rory McIlroy on Saturday night of the tournament, it was Lowry, not McIlroy, who confronted LaCava in the moment, shouting at the caddie from beside the 18th green.

Later that night, he reportedly gave an impassioned speech in the European locker room just before McIlroy confronted another U.S. caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, in the parking lot. Lowry quickly forced McIlroy into his courtesy car before the situation got out of hand.

Lowry also has bragging rights when it comes to the two players’ individual performances at Marco Simone, though just barely. In three matches, Lowry went 1-1-1, while Thomas went 1-2-1 across four matches.

Kevin Cunningham

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.